Upon the hills of Garlingtown Beneath the summer sky, In many pleasant pastures On sunny slopes and high, Their skins abloom with dusty blue, Asleep the berries lie. —Frank Prentice Rand In the Saffrin house this summer of ’18, we’re about five weeks along in following the Keto diet. Some days it’s been harder to live without carbs and sugar than it’s been to slog being outside on a wet humid day. But, we’re doing it. Lots of time, for me at least, spent learning some new recipes. Where would I be without the internet? I’ve found amazing recipes online. Being…

Sometimes you need to send a sincere message in a simple but significant way. Like when you want a person to know what a treasure she is. Like when you want a graduate to have a memento to take to college to remind her that she is not alone, is loved, and is journeying with her God-given talents to be of significance to the world. Like when you want to remind your mom of how much she means to you. Like when you want your best friend to know that even though the miles separate you from each other, she…

What comes to mind when you think of Key West? Before I visited this beautiful place, I knew it was about ninety miles from Cuba and Ernest Hemingway used to live there. Both are true. But Key West has so much to see and do, it is definitely worth scheduling into your Florida Keys trip if you have a day to spare. That said, a woman came up to me from Miami just after arriving and parking there at 11 a.m. and she, along with her husband and two mid-teen boys, were just getting into their car parked in back…

As we snow birds seem to say quite a bit in the early months of the year and now mid-survival of the April blizzard 2018, “Why do we live in Minnesota?” Family. My English, Norwegian and German ancestors, yes, decided that this part of the United States was a place to set down new roots. I’ve wondered, er grumbled, many a time, what was so enticing about this area? No sea, no mountains – of significance, just two seasons: Mosquito and Freezing Snow. Why, why, why? Especially when the Florida Keys exist? My husband, Rick, and I have visited the…

The first week of February 2018 we vacationed in Rio Verde, Arizona. While much of it was spent at the townhome we rented for the week with me soaking in the sun to get myself well from a season of cold and flu, we did do some adventuring too. It wasn’t long before we found a Starbucks. As we sat outside on the beautiful February day, I spied this woman about to enter into Target. I’ve never seen a dog stroller before and did not know they were allowed in public places. We learned that a couple we know from…

Every Wednesday is Olivia Day for me and my husband, Rick. We’ve watched our only grandchild every Wednesday since April 2016. She delights our hearts every time her father, Sam – our firstborn – brings her through our door until her mom, Hallie – our sweet daughter-in-law, comes to pick her up after work. Olivia is 23 months old now and every time we see her, a little more of her personality emerges. This past Wednesday, the first Wednesday of October 2017, she came wanting cinnamon raisin toast, to make noodles and waffles with Play-Doh, and to listen to me read to her “I Can…

Ever wish for a simple way to let visitors know your wifi and password? Here’s a classy, fun and practical sign to display your complimentary wifi for guests to use while in your home. Well, visit my Etsy store (juliesaffrinsstuff), and order this happy sign for your guest room or high-traffic area for friends and family to easily use your home network’s wifi. Give me one business day turnaround and you’ll have your own sign. Once you purchase the sign and I have received the wifi and password details from you, you will receive a downloadable digital file for you…

ST PAUL, Minn. — As I made my way from St. Paul River Centre’s underground parking ramp to its second level ballroom on Wednesday, September 6, 2017, people born in other nations passed by me, but we were all going to the same place, to their Naturalization Ceremony. Their expressions and attire gave away that this day, Citizenship Day for them, was a Big Deal Day. A mixture of anxiousness and excitement filled their faces. Anxious to be on time. Excitement as to what they had worked hard for to get to this day. Their figures were attired in suits…

One day last summer, working myself out of a funk, I decided to pull out the watercolors and began to paint. Ten greeting cards later, I set up an Etsy shop. Where, should you feel so inspired, you can take a peek at them to see if there’s something you might like. They are all my own designs and the cards are based on my original watercolor paintings. My shop, juliesaffrinsstuff can be found by clicking on juliesaffrinsstuff. While I do have my original BlessBack notecards as well as Lavish Love cards, I specifically created this new line of cards…

I first heard Wichita Lineman when I didn’t know much about Wichita or a lineman. What I knew were the song’s words and music captured the soul of a working guy missing his girl, and being that I was on the edge of puberty, that was enough for me. I hear you singing in the wires, I can hear you through the whine… At the time, I was taking piano lessons. As a way to stop my whining about my 30 minutes of practicing every day, Mom (who was smart to just parent me and not bring into the equation that of…